(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 29 June 2004 letter to Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, CPJ condemned the ongoing imprisonment of Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, the editor and publisher of the tabloid weekly “Blitz”, who was jailed on sedition charges. CPJ called for his immediate and unconditional release. Choudhury was arrested seven months ago, on 29 November […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 29 June 2004 letter to Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, CPJ condemned the ongoing imprisonment of Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, the editor and publisher of the tabloid weekly “Blitz”, who was jailed on sedition charges. CPJ called for his immediate and unconditional release.
Choudhury was arrested seven months ago, on 29 November 2003, at the Zia International Airport in the capital, Dhaka, while on his way to Israel to participate in a conference with the Hebrew Writers Association. Airport security officers detained Choudhury on suspicion of espionage, and he was charged with passport violations, according to local press reports. Bangladesh has no formal relations with Israel, and it is illegal for citizens to travel there.
Three months later, on 24 February, Choudhury was formally charged with sedition, according to his family. As evidence, Abdul Harif, the officer in charge of airport security, cited articles written by Choudhury about the rise of fundamentalism in Bangladesh that allegedly showed Bangladesh in a critical light.
The passport violation charges against Choudhury were dropped on 1 June because he had already served the mandated prison sentence during his ongoing detention, according to his family. Courts have rejected the family’s continuous appeals for Choudhury’s release on bail.
Choudhury is being held in the Dhaka Central Jail. He has been denied medical treatment for eye problems that may result in glaucoma, despite two rulings from the High Court this spring ordering that he be allowed to see a doctor, according to his family.
Earlier this year, Choudhury’s family sent Prime Minister Zia a letter asking her to help resolve his case and to order his release. In response, they received a copy of a letter from Prime Minister Zia’s office to the home minister’s office dated 7 June. In the letter, Prime Minister Zia’s office requested that the necessary steps be taken to expedite Choudhury’s case, according to Choudhury’s family.